Late Night visitor list grows by one very big name

If you’ve been following along closely during the past couple of months, you probably can recite most of the list yourself.

More than a dozen men’s basketball recruits from the Classes of 2017, 2018 and 2019 will be in attendance Saturday night at the 32nd annual Late Night in the Phog event at Allen Fieldhouse.

The most recent player to add his name to the list is five-star point guard Trevon Duval, from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Duval, ranked No. 3 overall in the 2017 class by Rivals.com, will be on campus as an unofficial visitor and he joins point guards Collin Sexton and Tremont Waters in visiting Late Night this weekend.

Six of the prospects in town this weekend will be visitors from the Class of 2017. The rest, at least as of today, will be here on unofficial visits, simply trying to get a taste of one of the biggest nights of the year in Lawrence, Kansas.

KU coach Bill Self said last week that the program probably has too many prospects coming and added that the challenge with such a long list would be to make every player feel like he got the proper attention and a quality look at the program. That’s where the assistants, support staff and even the current players themselves come into play.

Earlier this week, KU guard Devonte’ Graham talked about his role in recruiting and it was clear that the job was one that Graham and most of his teammates take very seriously.

“I’m not too pushy as a recruiter,” Graham said. “They’re around me, a lot of them ask me questions about Coach Self, like what he’s like in practices and stuff like that and I just be as honest with them as possible.”

Asked for a more specific example of the kinds of insight he provides, Graham’s answer carried with it a strong theme.

“It’s not easy. It’s not gonna be easy. You’re gonna have to come in here and work. Nothing’s given to you. Stuff like that,” he said. “But there’s nothing like being here. That’s one thing I always say. No matter where you come from, it’s one of the best places to be. That’s what I tell ’em.”

As is common throughout college athletics, the KU coaching staff often tries to pair up hosts and visitors based on obvious connections. For some it’s the same position. For others it’s the same hometown or general area. And still for more, it’s based on common interests. Graham said the pairings of hosts and visitors absolutely can make an impact.

“I definitely have some recruits that I like better than others, that you vibe with better than others or you just like the way they play or act,” he said. “It’s definitely tough trying to get guys here. Because when they’re traveling to all the top colleges across the world, it’s tough because they hear the same thing over and over.”

While the role of the players is merely to entertain, answer questions and offer a realistic and quality look into what life as a Kansas basketball player is like, Graham said the job does not end when the prospects leave town.

“Coaches ask us, ‘Do you think they would fit well with us,’ and stuff like that,” Graham said. “And I tell ’em yes or no, what I liked about ’em or didn’t like about ’em. Stuff like that.”

Below is the list of known visitors, broken down by class, with their vital stats and Rivals.com ranking included:

Comments

I hope the host feedback on the recruit is taken with a grain of salt. If not, we will only be getting recruits that have the same background and culture as the current team. Let's make sure we have a process that delivers more diversity in background and culture and welcoming all players based on their skills.

Bill, I think you probably are underestimating both the intelligence and character of the current (Self recruits). Your stated concerns may be pertinent to many (most?) teams –– I just don't think many of the Jayhawks fit so shallow a judgement.